August 27, 2006

Which civilization is better?

The typical American pundit asserts, usually on Columbus Day, that Western civilization is superior to Native civilization. Here's a response from The Gospel of the Redman by Ernest Thomspon Seton and Julia Seton, 1936:THE Civilization of the Whiteman is a failure; it is visibly crumbling around us. It has failed at every crucial test. No one who measures things by results can question this fundamental statement.

Apparently, the money-madness is the main cause of it all. We know that such a thing was unknown among the Indians. Their big menace was failure of food supply, and against this they prepared by a storage plan that was effectual.The Setons ask a long series of questions to take the measure of each culture. Read the full posting to see what they think makes a civilization civilized. Hint: It isn't having the most nuclear bombs, space shuttles, SUVs, semi-automatic pistols, 60" plasma TVs, iPods, or breast implants.